Economics

Pensions minister Steve Webb and business secretary Vince Cable have lost their seats after a calamitous evening for the Liberal Democrats saw the party underperform even the most pessimistic forecasts.

The Bank of England has admitted to making errors in its reporting of foreign investors' purchases of UK government bonds in recent weeks.

Equity markets have begun to recover after an early slump driven by a plunge in German sovereign debt prices.

Charles Stanley is in exclusive talks to sell its securities business to stockbroker Panmure Gordon, putting an end to rumours US firm Stifel Financial was the likeliest buyer.

M&G has reported a rise in UK retail outflows for the first quarter, and acknowledged the outlook for future flows remains "uncertain".

The FTSE 100 has risen almost 1% this morning to retake the 7,000 level, as all sectors except materials enjoy gains.

Hargreaves Lansdown entered the top five groups by net retail sales in the first quarter following a spate of multi-manager launches, according to the latest Pridham report.

Aberdeen has reported a worse than expected £11.3bn outflow for the six-month period to the end of March despite a rise in revenues over the period.

Lloyds Banking Group has boosted the FTSE 100 this morning but politically-sensitive sectors have begun to feel the bite of election season.

The Federal Reserve has dampened suggestions of a mid-2015 interest rate hike after weak GDP figures suggested the US recovery has lost momentum.